Building “green” not only means using recyclable and sustainable materials, it also means building the most cost effective and energy efficient buildings possible. Sustainable materials include lumber of a smaller diameter or composite materials. Building an energy efficient home requires using as much insulation as possible and reducing heat loss. A source of heat loss is wall studs. The wall studs in a home or building transfer heat and cold. Heat and cold are transferred through a wall from the inside of the structure to the outside of the structure by lumber wall studs. Steel studs are sometimes used in place of lumber to reduce cost. Steel studs however likewise transfer heat and cold. This problem has been addressed by providing a variety of insulated steel wall studs (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,713,921; 5,285,615; 5,475,961; 5,609,006; 5,720,144; 6,158,190, and U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2007/0113506 A1). Steel studs are not the first choice of a “green” builder however and they can be difficult to include in a structure designed for lumber studs. Insulated wall panels and variations of structural members have been presented to address thermal transfer (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,937,122; 6,125,608; and U.S. Published Patent Application Nos. 2006/0254197A1; 2007/0130865 A1; 2007/0227095A1; 2007/0283661 A1; and 2010/0236172 A1). These too have proved insufficient in providing a cost effective means of building energy efficient structures.
A need therefore remains for a cost effective means by which to stop heat transfer across wall studs in new or remodeled homes or buildings. The means is preferably a green building option allowing the use of sustainable materials while providing an energy efficient building.
All patents, patent applications, provisional patent applications and publications referred to or cited herein, are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the teachings of the specification.